MIAMI -- The Rockies entered 2026 with a new front-office plan, Warren Schaeffer managing the team from day one, and new pitching ideas and strategies. But they ran into a problem as old as baseball -- standout opposing starting pitching.
Sandy Alcantara buzzed through seven innings on 73 pitches, struck out five and held the Rockies to one unearned run on four hits in the Marlins’ 2-1 victory at loanDepot park on Friday night.
Rockies pitching was almost as stingy. Kyle Freeland ran up a high pitch count and labored in the second inning, but held the Marlins to two runs on five hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. And relievers Jimmy Herget, Brennan Bernardino and Juan Mejia gave up just three hits the rest of the way. Mejia, buoyed by confidence gained during the Dominican Republic’s deep run in the World Baseball Classic, held Miami at bay in the eighth after Connor Norby’s leadoff double.
The Rockies, rebuilding after going a worst-in-baseball 43-119 last season, set a strategy of being aggressive with any opening Alcantara offered -- there was one.
Jake McCarthy bunted a single to open the fourth and stole second base. But Marlins right fielder Austin Slater threw him out at the plate as he attempted to score on Hunter Goodman’s single.
The Rockies loaded the bases with an error by Marlins third baseman Javier Sanoja and a walk drawn by TJ Rumfield (one of just two issued by Alcantara), and Jordan Beck pushed in a run on an infield single. But Alcantara struck out Brenton Doyle, and the deficit stayed at 2-1.
The next threat came with runners at first and third in the eighth, but Marlins reliever Anthony Bender fanned Willi Castro to escape the jam.